Ranking and Grade Values

The Law School has committed to a policy of not providing an academic ranking of students. Students fall into the following "bands" of grades: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D. Students may list their numeric G.P.A. and/or these letter grade averages on resumes. Ninety-five to ninety-seven percent of a class of students has grade averages in the five grade bands A- to C+.

Students are not permitted to indicate an approximate class rank on a resume. Employers who choose to hire according to class rank may consult the graphs relating to grade averages and rank, available from the Office of Professional and Career Development. Students also consult the grade distribution information graphs to determine whether they fall into an employer's class rank cutoff or preference. Employers may ask for candidates in the top 10%, top "quintile", top half, or any other proportionate part of the class and both students and employers can assess sufficiently, but imprecisely, which students actually fall into certain segments of a class. Because grade "band" lines and typical rank cutoff lines do not coincide, many more students may legitimately be considered for employment by every employer.

The following chart shows the numerical values and ranges for each letter grade: